The CardMistress' Magical Twin
by Nightwingrox
Summary: Vernon Dursley abandons infant Harry in Japan. Found by Nadeshiko and raised as Haruki, Sakura Kinomoto's twin brother, Haru assists his sister in capturing the Clow Cards before discovering his true heritage and heading off to Hogwarts. Rated for safety.
1. Harry' to 'Haru'

* * *

**_The CardMistress' Magical Twin_**

**Chapter One: 'Harry' to 'Haru'**

Petunia Dursley always enjoyed her early morning routine. She loved the quiet sameness of it all. Unfortunately, on this particular morning, her routine had been disrupted quite alarmingly. Because today, Petunia Dursley had woken to find her year-old nephew asleep on her doorstep.

"VERNON!" she shrieked, snatching the child up and into the house before the neighbors could see him. "Vernon come quick!"

A bleary-eyed Vernon Dursley stumbled into the kitchen, still wearing his pajamas.

"What is it, Pet?" he mumbled.

"It's _him._" Petunia hissed at her husband, pointing at the baby she had unceremoniously dumped on the kitchen table. "My sister's brat. She and that good-for-nothing husband of hers have gone and gotten themselves killed. We're supposed to raise their unnatural brat."

Vernon was wide awake now.

"Not a chance," he growled, "I won't have that-that _thing_ contaminating our Duddy."

"Of course, dear," agreed Petunia, "But what will we _do_ with it? We can't just dump it in an orphanage. They'll just trace it back to us."

Vernon thought for a minute. An idea struck him.

"I'll take it with me on that business trip to Japan next week. I can abandon it there. In the mean time, we'll keep it in the cupboard under the staircase. That way it won't contaminate our Dudders."

"That's an excellent plan, Vernon."

"Of course it is."

* * *

Sonomi Daidouji did not normally do her own shopping. Today, however she had unexpectedly run out of mashed carrots for her year old daughter Tomoyo. She was glad she had decided to go out and get it herself rather than send a servent, because she otherwise would not have run into her beloved cousin Nadeshiko. She had never approved of Nadeshiko's husband, but that didn't mean she had stopped loving her cousin. The two left the grocery store deep in conversation.

That is, until Nadeshiko heard something in a nearby alley.

"Let's check it out, Sonomi-chan," she insisted, dragging the other woman behind her. As they entered the mouth of the alley, the sounds became clearer.

"It sounds like…crying," murmered Sonomi.

"It's coming from over here," said Nadeshiko, walking up to a rag pile and peering into it. She gasped. "Sonomi-chan, it's a baby. Someone left a baby here. Who would do such a thing?" Sonomi came over and sure enough, there was a little baby boy lying in the midst of the rag pile. Nadeshiko picked him up and cradled him in her arms making soothing sounds. "He has such bright green eyes, and look at this scar." She traced a scar shaped like lightening on the child's forehead. "I think I'll call him Haruki."

"You can't possibly be thinking of keeping him?" Sonomi blurted in shock.

"Why not?" asked Nadeshiko.

"'Why not?'" repeated Sonomi, incredulously, "There are dozens of reasons, Nadeshiko-chan. First of all, you found him in an _alley._"

"All the more reason to give him a loving home," replied Nadeshiko firmly.

Sonomi recognized that tone of voice. Nadeshiko had made up her mind and _no one,_ not even Sonomi, could change it. She sighed.

"Well, at least let me help you and _Kinomoto__-san_ adopt him legally. It shouldn't be too hard for me."

Nadeshiko looked up at her in surprise. Sonomi hadn't said Fujitaka's name with nearly as much venom as she had expected.

"I'd like that." She told her cousin.

Nadeshiko smiled down at the newly named Haruki, who was sleeping peacefully in her arms.

* * *

**_Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter One_**

**-chan:** honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys

**-san:** honorific that is often used towards persons one does not know well or one has a moderate amount of respect for


	2. Nine Years Later

_I realized after I posted the last chapter that I didn't put up a disclaimer. Not wanting to be kicked off, I decided to do so here. _**I don't own squat. Card Captor Sakura and related belong to CLAMP. Harry Potter and affiliated belong to J.K. Rowling. I thank all these kind and generous women for allowing me to share my unoriginal (but skilled) works with other people. I would also like to take this chance to inform them that suing me is useless as I am utterly broke.**

_I would like to inform_** tearsfalldownmycheeks** _that the CCS characters will, indeed, be going to Hogwarts, though during first year it will only be Harry, as that is the time during which Sakura is changing the Cards. Perhaps second year. First, however, they have to catch the Cards._

**Warning:**Not all updates will be this quick. I'm just on Thanksgiving break right now so I've got lots of time on my hands. Updates will likely slow down in the future. I apoligize in advance. Unfortunately, I sometimes have to pay attention to real life. Believe me if I could sit around and write all day, I would.

_I'm sorry to say, Hogwarts is still a ways off. Trust me when I say that I want to get there as much as you do, but I will not simply list the differences between the anime/manga and my story. I find that type of tactic not only lazy but in bad taste. I will write it out _as a story._ Just like these things were meant to be. I apoligize if that is a dissappointment to anyone. However this is a story that is about CardCaptor Sakura and Harry Potter _in equal parts.

_Also, I have stepped up the usage of Japanese phrases in this chapter. I did my best to be accurate, but I am no expert. If I made any mistakes in spelling or usage, _**please tell me. **_I want this to be as accurate as possible. _

_I have no problem with critsism, as long as you have a suggestion to fix the problem. Please don't just tell me "It sucks." Tell me why, so that I can improve._

_Thank you, and enjoy._

* * *

**Chapter Two: Nine Years Later**

"OI, SAKURA! WAKE UP!"

"HOOOOEEEEE!?" Sakura Kinomoto sat bolt upright in her bed causing her to bang her head quite painfully on the one above.

"Sakura! Gomen nasai! Daijoubu?" Sakura looked up at her glasses-clad brother and smiled.

"I'm fine, Haruki," she assured him. "It's not like this doesn't happen every morning. And anyway, it woke me up, didn't it?" She glanced at the clock. "7:30!? Hoeee! We'll be late! Get out while I get dressed Haru!" With this Sakura shoved her brother out of their shared bedroom.

Haru blinked slowly at the door that had been closed in his face. Then he shook his head, grinning. Sakura never changed. Haru, of course, was already wearing his uniform and his backpack was slung over his right shoulder. Unlike his sister, Haruki was an early riser. Still shaking his head, Haru turned and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Touya-nii greeted him with the usual "Baka" and Haru responded with his customary kick to the shin accompanied by an "I'm not a baka." As he was greeting his Okaa-san, Sakura came running down the stairs. Touya, being Touya, told her that she had sound like a Kaijuu stomping around up there. That earned him his second bruised shin of the day. Haru doubted it would be his last.

Just then, Oto-san came in with breakfast. They all sat down.

"Itadakimasu!"

As they were eating, Touya announced that he was leaving early to meet his friend Yukito. Sakura's eating picked up speed. Noticing this out of the corner of his eye, Haru sighed inwardly. He would never understand why Sakura had a crush on their Onii-chan's best friend. Even worse, he had a feeling that Yukito-san and Touya-nii were more than simply 'friends' though he would never have the heart to say as much to his love-struck sister. Sighing inwardly once again, Haru also picked up his eating pace: he was not going to be left behind.

* * *

Haruki sped along behind Sakura on his skateboard, as they did their best to catch up to their onii-chan's bicycle. As usual, they caught up to him just as he met up with Yukito-san. As usual, when Yukito-san greeted them politely, Sakura blushed and mumbled a greeting.

"Ohayo," Haru replied carelessly.

The four of them set off in silence. Haru was enjoying the quiet when Touya began to tease Sakura about 'being a Kaijuu.'

'He's going to regret that one later,' thought Haru mildly. 'Onii-chan should know better than to tease Sakura in front of Yukito-san.'

Just then, they arrived at Tomoeda Elementary. Haru and Sakura stopped. Sakura turned to wave goodbye to Yukito.

"Sakura, Haruki, catch!" he called.

Out of reflex, Haru raised a hand to catch the piece of candy Yukito had thrown at him. Stuffing it in his pocket, Haru glanced at Sakura. She appeared dazed, staring at the candy as if it were the most precious thing to her in the world. Haru shook his head.

"That was a smooth move of his, to give you a present just as he leaves," came a girl's voice, jolting Sakura to awareness.

"O-ohayo, Tomoyo-chan," she stammered.

Haru, who had been expecting something like this from his cousin, rolled his eyes. Sakura and Tomoyo-chan began talking as they entered the school. Haru paid no attention. Tomoyo-chan's mother, Sonomi, and his and Sakura's mother, Nadeshiko, had been cousins and the best of friends. They had had a falling apart in high school when Nadeshiko had married her teacher, Fujitaka Kinomoto. While Sonomi had never exactly warmed up to Fujitaka, she and Nadeshiko had repaired bridges when Tomoyo, Sakura, and Haru were just babies. Exactly how that had happened, however, Haru did not know. Every time he asked Oto-san or Sonomi-oba they abruptly changed the subject.

"Haru-chan, you're so kawaii when you're thinking!" exclaimed Tomoyo suddenly poking her video camera in his face, which quite effectively interrupted his thoughts.

"Tomoyo-chan-," Haru began irritably, but was cut off as Terada-sensei entered the room and told them to take their seats.

Still annoyed, Haru sank into his chair in front of Sakura and prepared himself for another day of dealing with his over-energetic, camera-obsessed cousin and his clueless, yet beloved twin sister.

* * *

**_Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Two_**

**Oi:** Hey!

**Hoe:** Exclaimation used by Sakura whenever she is surprised, scared, confused, etc. In other words, quite often.

**Gomen nasai:** I'm very sorry

**Daijoubu:** Are you alright?

**-nii:** Honorific used towards an older brother

**Baka:** Moron

**Okaa-san:** Mother

**Kaijuu:** Monster

**Oto-san:** Father

**Itadakimasu:** Said before one eats, somewhat like saying grace

**Onii-chan:** Big Brother

**-san:** Honorific that is often used towards persons one does not know well or one has a moderate amount of respect for

**Ohayo:** Good Morning

**-chan:** Honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys

**-oba:** Can mean either 'Aunt' or 'Old Lady', in this case 'Sonomi-oba' would be translated as 'Aunt Sonomi'

**Kawaii:** Cute(as in little kid cute, not attractive cute)

**-sensei:** honrific used to address one who teaches


	3. Enter the Guardian Beast

_Yeah, I couldn't stop. So here you, four hours after the last post, a new chapter._

_Once again, constructive reviews are appreciated, but not required._

* * *

**Chapter Three: Enter The Guardian Beast**

After school, Haru settled himself down under a tree not far from the spot where the cheerleaders held practice to wait for his sister. Sighing aloud, he pulled out his copy of Tamora Pierce's latest novel, '_Beka Cooper: Terrier_,' which had finally arrived the night before. Haru had something of a passion for American fantasy novels. In fact, they were the main reason he had taught himself to read, write, and even speak, English. Just so he wouldn't have to wait for his favorite authors' works to be translated.

'Even so, it takes forever for the books to be shipped here.' He thought. 'Kind of annoying, really.' With that thought, he immersed himself in the story.

"HARU!" yelled Sakura, half an hour later. The boy jumped.

"Nani?" he demanded irritably.

"It's time to go home, Haru," Sakura replied patiently, after all no one knew her brother better than her.

"Already?" complained Haru. "But Beka only just found Alanna's cat and named him Pounce."

"Hoe?" Sakura shook her head, knowing better than to ask. "We've got to go. You can finish it at home. And don't even think about trying to read on the way. You remember what happened last time."

Haru did, indeed, remember. That woman had been very upset when he had slammed into her, causing her to drop all her shopping. Sighing once again, Haru put the book away and slowly got to his feet. Dusting off his uniform, he reluctantly followed his sister out the front gate.

When they arrived home, no one was there. Oto-san had left a note on the message board saying he would be late. Touya was most likely at work somewhere. So Sakura decided to grab some pudding from the fridge.

"You'll spoil your dinner," commented Haru, not really caring.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him.

That's when they heard the noise.

"Wh-what's that?" asked a frightened Sakura. Haru, too, was a little spooked, but he didn't show it for Sakura's sake. He peered out into the hall.

"Dunno," he replied casually, "but it's coming from the basement."

"What if it's a burglar?" Sakura whispered, obviously scared.

"I doubt it is. Oto-san probably just left the radio on down there." Sakura looked unconvinced. Haru sighed. "Look, if it bothers you that much, we'll go down there and check it out."

"Thank you, Haru!" Sakura squealed, hugging him tightly.

"Hai, hai," muttered Haru, embarrassed, yet glad that Tomoyo and her camera were not here. His cousin would likely consider this the ultimate 'Kawaii' moment.

Quietly, they snuck down the stairs, Sakura clutching her cheerleader's baton. When they reached the bottom, Sakura flipped on the lights.

'So much for stealth,' thought Haru wryly. They continued along the rows of books until they reached they desk at which their Oto-san worked.

"Huh," muttered Haru. "The radio's off. I wonder what was making those-, Sakura, what are you doing?!" Haru had turned to see Sakura take a glowing book off one of the shelves. "That thing's glowing! It could be dangerous!" Sakura didn't seem to hear him.

"It's that book…," she murmured, so low that Haru almost didn't hear her.

"What book?" he asked. "Sakura, snap out of it!"

Suddenly, light flashed from the book and the clasp, which had previously been locked, opened. Sakura lifted the cover to find… cards. They resembled nothing more than Tarot cards. Patterned in red and gold with strange symbols, they seemed both natural and unnatural to Haru.

Sakura stared at them, as entranced as her brother. She lifted the first card and turned it over to reveal the depiction of a beautiful winged woman. There was an inscription on the bottom.

"'The Windy,'" read Sakura softly.

Immediately, Sakura was surrounded by a blast of wind that knocked Haru six feet back. All the cards but the one in Sakura's hand were blown away. Then the wind stopped and the book dropped to the ground as Sakura sank to her knees. Haru ran forward.

"Sakura," he called, "Daijoubu?"

"Hai...," replied Sakura, breathlessly.

Just then, the book began to glow again. Haru put an arm protectively around his sister as a figure came rising out of the book's cover.

Both twins stared as what looked like a yellow stuffed lion with wings floated up to their eye-level. Slowly, ominously, it raised its head.

"Konnichwa!" it cried in a horrendously bad Osaka accent. Haru sweat-dropped as it began babbling on. After a few moments, Sakura grabbed it and began searching for the batteries. Haru sweat-dropped even more.

"Ano…Sakura," he muttered. "I don't think it's a toy. I think it's magical."

Sakura stared at him. The creature grinned.

"Hey! You've got good instincts, kid." It said. " I bet you're the one who woke me up."

"Ano…Actually, it was Sakura."

He (the thing was a he, Haru was sure of it) looked startled for a moment then peered at Sakura closely.

"Oh, _I_ see." He said, though what, exactly, he saw, Haru had no idea. "Anyway, I'm Keroberos, The Beast of the Seal, who guards this book." Haru nodded in understanding, while Sakura stared at him blankly. "Yeah, I look out for the cards in this book so that they don't cause trouble." He lifted the book up and his jaw dropped as he noticed that the cards were gone. "Iieeee! The cards are gone! Why? Why!? Where did they go?!"

"They were blown away when Sakura read the name of the Windy card." Haru told him calmly.

"_NANI?!"_ screeched Keroberos in a panic.

_

* * *

_

**_Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Three_**

**Nani:** What?

**Hoe:** Exclaimation used by Sakura whenever she is surprised, scared, confused, etc. In other words, quite often.

**Oto-san:** Father

**Hai:** Yes

**Kawaii:** Cute(as in little kid cute, not attractive cute)

**Daijoubu?:** Are you alright?

**Konnichiwa:** Nice to meet you.

**Osaka:** An area of Japan. In Japan, having an Osaka accent is like having a New York accent is in America; everyone knows where you're from from the word "Hi".

**Ano:** Um

**Iie:** No

_

* * *

_

Okay, really this time. Don't expect such a fast update next time. I really am a busy person.

_Ja ne!_


	4. Birth of a Cardcaptor

_Alright, here's you next chapter. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter Four: Birth of a Cardcaptor**

Haru watched with interest as Keroberos hovered above the book, glowing. The guardian beast had been at it for nearly fifteen minutes already. Haru assumed that he was meditating, searching for the cards, though what was so important about them, Haru had yet to discover. What did Keroberos mean when he said he was supposed to make sure the cards 'didn't cause trouble?' If that was his purpose, why had he fallen asleep? How long had he been asleep? Thirty minutes? A day? A year? Longer? How, then, had Sakura woken him?

Haru had never doubted the existence of magic. After all, his Onii-chan could see ghosts, and how else could anyone explain the unusual things that happened whenever Haru was truly upset (part of the reason he tended to be so reserved). There was no doubt in Haru's mind; magic was real.

Nor did Haru question, even for a moment, the magical nature of his and Sakura's guest; he had read far too many novels where something like this happened. Not only that, but he could _feel_ the magic of the creature, down in his very being. Haru instinctively _knew_ this beast meant no harm but, as many of his novels showed, Keroberos' idea of harm and Haru's weren't necessarily the same.

Haru decided right then and there to keep an eye on the small, harmless-looking, plush-toy-imitator.

Just as he made this decision, Sakura burst into the room bearing pudding.

"Here you go, Kero-chan!" she said bouncily. Haru briefly considered complaining that she had brought him nothing, then decide against it.

"It looks great," stated the guardian as he began to eat, "But was with this 'Kero-chan' business? My name's Keroberos."

"Oh, but you don't look like a 'Keroberos,' you look more like a 'Kero-chan,'" replied Sakura, nodding firmly as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. And to her, it probably was.

"Maybe I do now, but this is only my temporary form. My true form is much more impressive. I'd even go so far as to say it's _Super Cool_." The recently-dubbed Kero-chan struck what he must have believed to be a powerful pose.

Haru rolled his eyes. Luckily for him neither of his companions were paying him any attention.

"So, any luck?" asked Sakura, referring to Kero's meditations.

"It's no use," replied Kero, shaking his head, "I can't sense them anywhere." Then, almost to himself, he added, "There were Clow Cards in that book."

"Clow Card?" asked Sakura innocently.

Haru's ears perked up. It sounded as if his questions were about to be answered. And he hadn't even had to ask them!

"Clow Cards," confirmed Kero. "When the seal on them is broken, a catastrophe will befall the world."

'Catastrophe?' thought Haru. 'What does he mean catastrophe?'

"Those cards were magical cards made by an extremely powerful sorcerer named Clow Reed," continued Kero without elaborating, "Each card is sentient and holds great power."

Haru leaned over the edge of his bed, now worried. These things were so powerful…

"However they're all behaving of their own accord, and normal powers are no match for them," continued Kero in that same lecturing tone. "So Clow created this book and placed me, the Beast of the Seal, on the book's front cover." Kero sighed. "In any case, we Have to get the cards back," he pointed his spoon at Sakura, "so you're coming with me."

"NANI?" demanded Haru jolting into a sitting position and banging his head on the ceiling.

"Why me?" demands Sakura.

"You're the one that scattered the cards with the Windy spell," replied Kero in an accusatory voice.

"B-but wasn't it your job to keep the cards properly sealed away?" asked Sakura flustered.

"Hai! Hai!" Haru agreed jumping down from his top bunk and landing lightly on his feet. "How is it _our _fault that _you _were sleeping on the job, ne? How long were you asleep anyway?"

"About thirty years," muttered Kero, rubbing the back of his head.

Haru and Sakura sweat-dropped.

"And you call yourself the Beast of the Seal?" asked Sakura.

"Stuff happens, alright!?" an embarrassed guardian beast said raising his voice.

"So those noises we heard were just snores…," commented Sakura. Haru nodded, trying his best not to roll on the floor laughing.

"In any case," Kero said, changing the subject, "the fact that you could open this book means that you have some kind of magical powers. What's your name?"

"Sakura," Sakura replied automatically.

"Stand over there, Sakura," ordered Kero solemnly.

Sakura did so though Haru protested.

"Sakura, I don't think this is a good idea." However, his arguments feel on deaf ears; like they always did. So he sighed and stepped back, hoping Sakura wasn't getting in over her head.

Kero, still sitting on the book, began to glow. The room around them faded away and Haru found he couldn't move. He watched helplessly as his sister stood on a glowing magical circle.

"Key of the Seal," began Kero in a mystical voice. Something encased in a bright orb of light removed itself from the key hole of the book and started to float over to Sakura. "There is someone wishing for a contract with you. A girl. Her name is Sakura. Oh Key, grant her the power! RELEASE!"

The orb of light expanded swiftly until they were surrounded by white light. A staff appeared in front of Sakura.

"Grab the staff!" called Kero urgently.

Sakura trudged forward as if walking through molasses. She reached out and grabbed hold of the staff. Suddenly, they were back in their room.

"Alright!" shouted Kero, "The birth of a Cardcaptor!"

"Hoeeeeeee?!" cried Sakura, alarmed.

"NANI?!" demanded an angry Haru.

Kero, however, had already returned to his pudding.

* * *

**_Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Four_**

**Onii-chan: **Big Brother

**-chan:** honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys

**Nani:** What?

**Hai:** Yes

**Hoe:** Exclaimation used by Sakura whenever she is surprised, scared, confused, etc. In other words, quite often.

* * *

_Yes, I realize that I have yet to complete the first episode. I'm only dragging it out for the sake of a proper explaination. I promise never again to make four chapters of a single episode. Heck, I doubt I'll even do every episode. It just would drive me nuts. Don't get me wrong, I won't skip over it completely, but neither will I go into this much detail._

_Again, love the reviews, but don't have to have 'em. Like Kero-chan and sweets._

_Until next time, Ja ne!_


	5. The Fly Card

_Hey, sorry for the wait. Like I said, I'm a busy person. Also a close friend of mine died and it's been rough. _

_One person mentioned Haru was OOC. My answer to that is that of course he is. He's had a completely different upbringing._

_Someone else cautioned me against making Haru too powerful, stating that wizards can't sense magic. The fact is that they can, just not on the level of sorcerers. For example, Harry felt a 'tingling warmth spread down his arm' when he first held his wand. And Dumbledore managed to sense the magic in the cave in book 6. Some of you may argue that Harry only sensed that because it was his wand, and that Dumbledore has years of experience. This is true. However, it is widely accepted that Harry is more powerful than the average wizard. I am going to say, for the sake of my story, that Haru is able to sense the basic presence of magic only when it is close to him_. _This is only because he has never doubted its existence. He is obsessed with American fantasy novels. His older brother sees ghosts. His father openly talks about how Touya is "sensitive to those types of things, just like his mother" at the dinner table_. _Magic is simple for him to accept. Whereas cannon Harry was raised by the Dursleys, who drilled it into his head that magic doesn't exist and so accepting magic is hard for him. And if he has trouble believing in it, why wouldn't he have trouble doing it?_

_Sorry to rant on, I just wanted to explain where I was coming from. On with the story._

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Fly Card**

"I'm absolutely positively sure I can't do it," Sakura said, showing an uncharacteristic level of assertiveness.

Haru glared daggers at the plush toy look-alike his sister had refused to allow him to feed to the neighbor's dog. Deep down he disagreed with his sister's statement, but he was adamantly against Sakura being put in danger simply because this so-called guardian beast had failed to do his job.

"I can't be a Cardcaptor," Sakura continued to insist earnestly.

"Cardcaptor," Kero stated, somewhat thoughtful, "One who captures Clow Cards. Doesn't that sound cool?"

"Yeah, but so does 'nuclear holocaust,'" Haru retorted rudely.

"Haru!" admonished his sister.

Kero floated over to glare at Haru point-blank.

"What's your problem, kid?" he asked, irritably.

"My _problem_?" repeated Haru incredulously. "My _problem_, as you so eloquently put it, is a six-inch tall guardian beast, who's not so good at guarding, that just came off the cover of a book in my Oto-san's library and subsequently tricked my sister into doing his dirty work for him!"

Kero opened his mouth to reply when a gust of wind blew in though the open window. Sakura fought her way over to the window, closely followed by both Kero and Haru, their argument momentarily forgotten. As the two siblings attempted to close the window, Kero started.

"Look," he stated, pointing to a giant bird-like creature just visible over the tree-tops.

"What is it?" asked Sakura in awe. Haru thought he knew. He hoped he was wrong.

"A Clow Card," Kero told Sakura. Haru's heart sank.

"That's probably the Fly Card," continued Kero, knowledgeably. Sakura gaped, astonished. "This is no time to be impressed," Kero admonished. "Hurry up!"

"For what?" asked Sakura. Haru got that sinking feeling.

"The first job for Cardcaptor Sakura!" announced Kero, dramatically.

"Hoeee!?" cried Sakura.

"Absolutely not!" exclaimed Haru.

* * *

Five minutes later, they were both skating hard against the winds created by the Fly Card in an attempt to catch up with it.

"Remind me again why we couldn't change out of our pajamas?" inquired Haru grumpily.

He was completely ignored, naturally.

They came to a halt roughly a hundred yards from were Fly had set down to rest.

"I can't catch something that big," said Sakura, quite logically Haru thought. After all, the bird-creature was well over three stories tall.

"Why are you acting so wimpy?!" yelled Kero.

"Hey, don't yell at my sister!" yelled Haru angrily.

The bird, perhaps attracted by all the yelling, chose this moment to notice them. It screeched, battering them with high velocity winds Haru quickly ducked behind a trash can. He glanced around for his sister.

His gut wrenched as he saw her blown up into the air. He saw Kero catch the back of her pajamas in his mouth. Haru gave in inward sigh of relief as he watched the tiny guardian beast slowly lower a semi-dazed, but unharmed Sakura to the ground. She seemed very relieved to be back on solid ground, but there was no time to rest.

"Sakura! Your magic!" cried Kero urgently. Sakura looked at him in confusion. "The key!" Kero reminded her. "Just do as I told you earlier."

Haru watched as Sakura nodded and straightened, somewhat more confident. He hoped she could handle this. She pulled out the key that Kero had tricked her into making a contract with less than an hour before.

Holding it in front of her, she recited,

"_**KEY WHICH HOLDS THE POWER OF DARKNESS,**_

_**REVEAL TO ME YOUR TRUE FORM,**_

_**BY OUR CONTRACT, I**__**, SAKURA, COMMAND YOU:**_

_**RELEASE!**_"

The key shone with white light, and expanded into staff form. Sakura grabbed it; twirling it a few times before holding it somewhat unsurely close to her body with both hands. Kero then came down to hover near her shoulder.

"Alright, Sakura," he said, getting down to business. "The Fly card is attributed to Wind. You should be able to capture it with just the Windy card you have now."

"Are you sure?" asked Sakura nervously.

"He's the guardian beast, he should know!" called Haru from where he was crouched.

"In any case, we have to get closer," Kero asserted.

Haru was about to protest when the winds picked up once again. Suddenly, it was all he could do to stay hunkered behind his trash can. The bird was overhead. It dove at Sakura, beak opened wide. Sakura ducked just in time.

"What should I do? It's flying straight at me!" Sakura was beginning to panic.

"Sakura, the Windy card!" cried Haru, desperately trying to get her to focus.

"Y-yeah," she replied, digging into her pocket for the card.

"Yipes," called Kero, "It's coming again."

"Way to _not_ pressure her, Kero-kun," muttered Haru, though neither of his companions could hear him over the wind.

Sakura ducked again, flinging her arms over her head.

"Sakura! The Windy card! Now!" yelled Kero desperately.

"But how-," Sakura began, before she was forced to skate out of the way of the bird's latest attack. "I can't!" she cried.

Haru began to truly worry.

"The point of being the Cardcaptor is to figure out stuff like this!" Kero told her.

"Something..." Sakura began. "I might be able to do something!"

"Then do it!" yelled Haru.

Just then bird struck, knocking Kero away from Sakura who had sped up just in time to avoid the huge beak. She then proceeded to skate _up_ a nearby wall and leap _onto _her opponent's back.

"Are you _insane?!"_ Haru yelled to his apparently suicidal twin sister as he jumped to his feet.

Sakura nearly fell, before gripping some feathers on the creature's back. The bird wheeled, circling higher and higher until Haru could no longer see it or his sister.

"SAKURA!" he yelled, falling to his knees.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that. It felt like hours.

In fact, it was only a handful of minutes before Sakura descended from the air on her staff, which now had wings.

"Haru! Haru, I did it! I captured the Fly card. Look! See what it- Haru?"

Haru stood and stumbled over to his sister, engulfing her in a humongous hug.

"Don't _ever _do that to me again," he whispered quietly.

Sakura hugged him back.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Haru," she told him, "I promise I won't do it again." She pulled away and grinned. "To make up for it, how about a ride?"

* * *

Flying high above Tomoeda, Haru could almost forget how much she had scared him. Almost.

* * *

**_Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Five_**

**Oto-san:** Father

**Hoe:** Exclaimation used by Sakura whenever she is surprised, scared, confused, etc. In other words, quite often.

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Alright. That's it for now. I appreciate reviews(they make me feel loved) but I don' t have to have them.

_Until next time,_

_Ja ne!_


	6. The Morning After

_Alright, sorry for the delay. Had a buncha stuff on my plate. The holidays have a tendency to make one so busy, ya know what I mean?_

_Um, yeah, can't think of anything else that needs to be said, so... _

_On with the story._

* * *

**Chapter Six: The Morning After**

Haruki lay in his bed with his eyes closed, as he had for the past hour or so. He was silently rationalizing the noises he heard of someone moving around the bedroom. Sakura had simply gotten up early for the first time in her natural life. Those weren't wings flapping, just Sakura's clothes flapping about as she moved.

The sounds were _not_ being created by Kero-kun. Because Kero-kun only existed in that strange dream Haru had had last night. Magical guardians, Clow cards, giant birds, staffs with wings: all figments of his imagination.

Haru had nearly convinced himself of this when an unmistakable Osaka accent filled the air.

"Sakura! Haruki! Get up!"

Haru snapped upright, banging his head painfully on the ceiling in the process.

"Kuso!" he hissed, not so much at the bump that was now forming on his forehead as at the abysmal failure of his wishful thinking.

"Oh good, you're up," observed Kero, "Now you can help me wake up your sister. She sleeps really hard, ya know."

"Just tell her Yukito-san is here," grumbled Haru, irritably rubbing his head.

Kero did so and Sakura sat up alertly, also banging her head. (Though _her_ forehead came into contact with the bottom of her brother's bunk, rather than the ceiling.)

"Yukito-san!" she exclaimed, completely oblivious of the pain in her forehead. "Where?"

"At home. Eating, most likely," Haru interjected as he suddenly jutted his head into her face from the upper bunk.

"Hoe!" cried Sakura with a start.

"Gomen, I didn't mean to startle you," Haru told her, his mischievous grin stating otherwise.

His head disappeared from her line of sight for a moment, then he landed lightly feet first on the floor of their bedroom.

"I'll get dressed in the bathroom," Haru offered, gathering his uniform, "But we'd better hurry or we'll be late."

* * *

"Breakfast!" called Touya from downstairs just as Haruki exited the bathroom.

"Hai!" called both he and Sakura in unison. They walked down the stairs in tandem. "Ohayo, Onii-chan!" They chorused as they entered the kitchen. Touya looked up, startled.

"Sakura's down? But I only called once." He peered curiously out of the kitchen window. "Is it going to rain today?"

Sakura planted her hands on the table and leaned forward angrily as Haru hid a grin.

"Haru played a dirty trick," she told him hotly.

"Oh?" asked Touya curiously.

Haru shrugged. "All's fair in love, war, and waking up Sakura."

Sakura crossed her arms and pouted.

Touya snorted and returned to the task at hand, namely cooking breakfast.

Haru turned to look at the portrait of his, Sakura's and Touya's Okaa-san that was sitting on the side counter.

"Ohayo, Okaa-san," he greeted her with Sakura echoing him. He and Sakura had no real memories of her, she had died when the twins were no more than three, but Oto-san had told them she was very kind and they knew from her picture that she was very beautiful.

"Ohayo," greeted their Oto-san as he entered the room.

"Ohayo," replied the three Kinomoto siblings as one.

Fujitaka Kinomoto was a kind, loving man who was as dedicated to his children as he was to his work as a professor of archeology.

The four members of the Kinomoto family gathered round the table which was adorned with the food Touya had prepared.

"Breakfast looks delicious today, as usual," commented Fujitaka.

"Well, it's better than the kaijuu's anyway," replied Touya.

Haru nodded sagely. Sakura's cooking _was_ horrible.

Sakura stomped on Touya's foot and elbowed Haru in the ribs roughly.

Fujitaka gave a curious look as both his sons winced in pain.

"Well, Oto-san, let's eat," Sakura said loudly, to cover for herself.

"Itadakimasu!"

Sakura and Haruki finished quickly.

"You're sure in a hurry today," commented Fujitaka as they carried their dishes to the sink.

"I'm in charge of cleaning the classroom today," Sakura told him.

"And you, Haruki-san?" inquired their Oto-san.

"I'm not letting my Nee-chan walk to school alone," he stated, sounding somewhat offended, "Who knows what kind of psychos are out there."

"You don't have to, Haru. There aren't any people like that in Tomoeda." Sakura told him, sweat-dropping just a little.

"Yeah, right," her Otouto scoffed, "And how would _you_ know? I'm coming and that's final."

"Hai, Hai," Sakura conceded with no small amount of exasperation. Quickly, while no one was looking, she swiped a treat from the basket on the kitchen counter and then the pair rushed upstairs to grab their things.

As they entered the room, Sakura handed the illicit sweets to Kero. Cardcaptor and guardian beast had a small conversation as the former prepared for school. Haru paid the exchange no more mind than he did the superficial conversations his sister had with his second-cousin Tomoyo. Well, superficial in _his_ opinion. Not that either girl seemed to care what he thought.

Finally, Sakura noticed the time and the twins were out the door and flying through the streets towards school.

Then, Sakura decided to take a 'detour.' One that just _happened_ to bring them right past Yukito-san's house. Where they stopped.

Haru sighed in resignation.

He was about to remind Sakura that they needed to get a move on when Yukito-san himself showed up. Haru offered the necessary pleasantries, but let Sakura do the talking for the most part.

As his sister spoke with her crush, however, Haru thought he saw Sakura's backpack _move_ out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head and blinked several times.

Just then, Sakura set off, a handful of freshly picked roses from Yukito-san's garden for the classroom in hand. Haru followed, deep in thought.

He must have imagined it. Surely Kero-kun wouldn't be so foolish as to stow away in Sakura's school bag.

Would he?

**_Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Six_**

**-kun:** Honorific used towards males that one is familar with.

**Kuso:** Damn it!

**-san:** honorific that is often used towards persons one does not know well or one has a moderate amount of respect for

**Hoe:** Exclaimation used by Sakura whenever she is surprised, scared, confused, etc. In other words, quite often.

**Gomen:** I'm Sorry

**Hai:** Yes

**Ohayo:** Good Morning

**Onii-chan:** Big Brother

**Okaa-san:** Mother

**Oto-san:** Father

**Kaijuu:** Monster

**Itadakimasu:** Said before one eats, somewhat like saying grace

**Nee-chan:** Older Sister

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_

Right, well. I'd love to know what you think of it, but I'm not going to hold chapters hostage to find out. Thus, all I can do is hope that you'll be kind and tell me of your own free will. They do make me feel happy. Don't you like making people happy?

_Until next time, Ja ne!_


	7. Observations and an Ally

_Sorry for the delay, folks. I had some inspiration on my other story, then I was banned from the computer because my mother wanted me to study for my Semester Finals. Pfft. I didn't know anybody actually _did_ that, outside of movies and books and stuff. Study for Finals, I mean. I never have. And Senior year's a bit late for me to start, don't ya think? Ah, well. What's done is done. I didn't wind up studying after all, I just wrote on paper. So, Finals are over, I probably aced 'em, you guys(used generically) have now got your new chapter, and my mom's none the wiser. _

_Also, I told a few reviewers that Haru would only go through about episode twenty. I miscalculated. He will go all the way through the Final Judgment. Sorry for the confusion. _

_And now, without further ado, the chapter._

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Observations and an Ally**

Haruki continued to eye Sakura's backpack for any suspicious movement the rest of the way to school. It didn't so much as twitch the entire time. When they finally arrived in their classroom, there was no one else there. Haru was not exactly surprised seeing as they were more than an hour early. For Sakura, however, this was a first.

"Wow, we're first!" she exclaimed excitedly. Haru resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They walked to their desks and set down their bags.

Sakura was stretching her arms when the classroom door slid open. Tomoyo entered.

"You're here early, Sakura-chan," she observed calmly.

"Ohayo," replied Sakura, running forward to greet her best friend and cousin, "You're here early, too."

"Hey, hey," interrupted Haru, "I'm here too, you know."

"Gomen," replied Tomoyo, "Ohayo, Haru-chan."

"Ohayo," said Haru, somewhat mollified, "And don't call me 'Haru-chan.'"

"Hai, Haru-chan."

"Ano, Tomoyo-chan," began Sakura, "Why are you here so early? Are you in charge of something, too?"

"No, I'm not," Tomoyo told them. "I just wanted to show you something, Sakura-chan. And you too, Haru-chan."

Sakura blinked. "Hoe?"

Tomoyo got her camcorder from her bag and set it gently on Sakura's desk. The three of them crowded round.

"A video?" asked Sakura. Haru only narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows slightly.

"I was able to film something extremely amusing last night," Tomoyo told them somewhat cryptically. She pressed play and the video began.

As the small screen was filled with an image of the night sky, Haru began to feel a strange sense of foreboding.

_'I have a bad feeling about this,'_ he thought.

Three tiny figures came on screen, slowly passing in front of the moon.

Sakura looked as if someone had just stuff an extremely sour lemon into her mouth whole. Haruki kept his face carefully blank.

"What was that?" asked Sakura, trying and failing miserably to pretend that she had no idea.

"This is an enlargement," said Tomoyo, pressing another of the seemingly endless buttons on the camcorder.

The new image showed an unmistakable view of Haruki and Sakura flying through the air on a staff with wings accompanied by a small stuffed toy lion, also with wings. Sakura's face looked like that of someone who'd been caught red-handed. Haru groaned and smacked his forehead with one hand.

"Hoeeeeeeee!" screeched Sakura.

Immediately, Kero lept from Sakura's book bag.

"What is it, Sakura?" he yelled looking ready to fight. "A Clow card? Where? I'll take it on! Come on!" He finally seemed to see Tomoyo because he went silent and stared.

Tomoyo, on the other hand, looked from Kero to the video footage of Kero then back again. She blinked a few times.

"My, a striking resemblance!" she exclaimed.

Sakura and Kero sweat-dropped. Haruki calmly sat down at his desk and began rhythmically banging his head against it.

* * *

At lunch, Sakura, Tomoyo and Kero sat on a picnic blanket they had set on the ground behind the school. Haru was nearby, leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree with his hands behind his head as he prepared to listen to his companions' conversation.

"Why did you tag along?" demanded Sakura of Kero, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Well, I wanted to get an idea of how a Cardcaptor spends her day," explained Kero cheerfully as he began to float a handful of inches off of the ground.

Sakura sighed, but Tomoyo gazed at Kero with a delighted expression on her face. Haru recognized the look as the one his cousin always gave Sakura or he right before she whipped out her camera and screeched, "Kawaii!"

This time, though, Tomoyo's impeccable manners kept her from doing so. She looked at Sakura.

"Would you be so kind as to introduce us, please, Sakura-chan?" she asked, ever so politely.

"He says his name's Keroberos," Sakura said, somewhat offhandedly as she glanced at the creature.

"He sure looks different from his name," observed Tomoyo-chan.

"That's what _I_ thought," agreed Sakura.

"He's more like a...," Tomoyo began.

"Kero-chan." Both girls finished authoritatively and in unison.

Haru rolled his eyes.

'_Girls are _so_ weird,' _he thought dryly.

Meanwhile, Kero was protesting the continued use of this nickname.

"I'm Keroberos," he stated, loudly and importantly, "The Guardian Beast of the Seal, who guards the Clow Cards!"

"Nice job on that, by the way," called Haru from his relaxed position, his eyes half-closed.

Kero looked as if he wanted to fly over to the boy and give him a piece of his mind, when Tomoyo spoke up.

"Clow Cards?" his cousin asked looking as confused as she ever did.

* * *

Tomoyo listened intently to Kero's explanation of the previous evenings events. Most people in her place would have either run away screaming or fainted. Heck, most people would have done one of those two things when what appeared to a flying plush toy burst out of their second cousin/best friend's book bag yelling about taking on Clow Cards. Not Tomoyo Daidoujii. No, she simply took it in stride, as if magically sentient stuffed animals and dangerously powerful magical playing cards were a mere fact of life. Not unusual in the least.

It occurred to Haru that his family was highly unusual. His brother saw ghosts, his father talked about magic at the dinner table, his twin sister was now some kind of magical card-collector, and his cousin... Haru glanced at Tomoyo. He didn't even want to_ go_ there.

Yes, his family was quite unusual. And that was just how he liked it.

* * *

"...And so, Sakura became Cardcaptor Sakura." finished Kero.

"That's wonderful!" exclaimed Tomoyo, clapping her hands together, "The Cardcaptor who protects the city from the catastrophe of the Clow Cards! That's so awesome!"

She seemed to be completely enraptured, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I can't do something that important!" protested Sakura.

Tomoyo turned and grabbed Sakura's hand.

"No, you can do it, Sakura-chan!" she exclaimed, caught up in the moment. "If you don't mind, can you show me how you use your magic?"

Haru and Sakura blinked once or twice in unison. The question had been completely out of the blue, but it _was_ Tomoyo, after all.

"Yeah, yeah, show her," urged Kero boisterously

"Demo..." Sakura began uncertainly.

"It's alright," the small Guardian assured her, "There's no one in sight. Do a small flashy one."

Sakura looked at Haru as if to ask his opinion. Haru shrugged.

"Kero-kun is the expert," he told her.

Sakura stood up and walked a few feet away from her brother and cousin. She sighed, then pulled the key from the chain on which it now hung around her neck. She held it in front of her at arms length and began to chant in a fairly confident voice,

**_"KEY WHICH HIDES THE POWER OF THE DARK,_**

**_REVEAL YOUR TRUE FORM BEFORE ME!_**

**_BY OUR CONTRACT I, SAKURA COMMAND YOU:_**

**_RELEASE!"_**

As before, a white light surrounded her and a magical circle appeared beneath her as the key extended into a staff. Sakura gripped the staff firmly and twirled it a few times before the light disappeared.

"Wonderful!" exclaimed Tomoyo as she rushed forward. "And you can use magic with that staff?"

"Hai," Sakura replied turning to speak to her friend, "although I _do_ need a card."

"Like this," said Kero, lifting up the Fly Card from inside Sakura's book bag.

"Wh-when did you-?" stammered Sakura looking startled.

"So, do you have a trademark pose, yet?" asked Tomoyo, briskly.

"N-nani?" asked Sakura, bewildered and confused.

"Trademark poses and spells are a basic part of being a magical girl!" pronounced Tomoyo, going into full 'Kawaii'-mode.

Haru spent the rest of the lunch period half-listening as Tomoyo waned poetic about magical girl stereotypes, leaving Sakura quite disturbed.

* * *

The day finally ended and the twins said good-bye to their friends and their very bizarre cousin.

"Ja ne," Haru called to his friend Yamazaki-kun. He turned to leave, then whirled around suddenly.

But Yamazaki was already halfway up the street, running to catch up with Chiharu-chan, and Haru couldn't tell if what he thought he'd seen was true.

"Daijoubu?" asked a concerned Sakura.

"Nothing," replied Haru distractedly.

Sakura looked at him for a moment, then shrugged and began to skate towards home. Haru followed, his mind troubled.

He must have imagined it. He _must_ have. Because how could Yamazaki-kun have possibly been missing his shadow? He couldn't have. It must have been a trick of the light. Haru smiled slightly at his accidental pun. A trick of the light, causing him to fail to see a shadow. Yes, that was it. And he put the matter from his mind.

**_

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_**

Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Seven

**-chan:** honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys

**Ohayo:** Good Morning

**Gomen:** I'm Sorry

**Hai:** Yes

**Ano:** Um

**Hoe:** Exclaimation used by Sakura whenever she is surprised, scared, confused, etc. In other words, quite often.

**Demo:** But

**-kun:** Honorific used towards males that one is familar with.

**Nani:** What?

**Kawaii:** Cute(as in little kid cute, not attractive cute)

**Ja ne:** See ya!

**Daijoubu:** Are you alright?

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That's it for now. Review if you want to make me happy. If not, I

suppose_ I'll survive. Maybe._

_Until next time, Ja ne!_


	8. Time Passes

_Alright people, here's a new chapter. Sorry it took so long, I just started a new job and school's been a mess. Also I was hoping to get some progress on my other story, but I'm stuck on this part where a mom defends her son to the school principal. I have no idea where to start, 'cause my mom always took the principal's side. Any advice would be welcome_

_Here's the next chapter for this story._

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Time Passes**

Yamazaki-kun's shadow _had_ been missing, though. Stolen by the Shadow Card, as it had turned out. The Shadow Card had created some serious trouble for their entire school by moving the furniture into haphazard piles which Haruki, Sakura, Tomoyo, and all of the rest of their classmates had had to sort out. Then, that evening, Haruki and Sakura had returned to the school to capture the card. Haru had led the creature, which had appeared as a figure cloaked in shadow, on a wild chase throughout the halls of his school before Sakura had managed to capture it. And of course, Tomoyo had dressed them both in ridiculous matching outfits of her own design. She had also filmed the entire episode while periodically squealing "Kawaii!"

Things had been pretty peaceful for the following few weeks. Then Haru and Sakura's class had gone on a field trip to the aquarium. They had been watching the penguin show when a whirlpool had appeared inside the tank. The whirlpool had attempted to suck in the trainer and one of the penguins, but its efforts had been thwarted by the timely arrival of Touya with a bucket of fish. Touya had wasted no time jumping in to pull animal and trainer to safety.

That weekend, the water actually broke out of the tank near the cafe to attack Sakura while Yukito had been treating her and Haruki to snow cones. Both twins would likely have drowned if Yukito hadn't used an emergency axe to break down a door so the water would drain out. Haruki had been quite surprised by the older boy's quick thinking and was more than a little disturbed by how calm his onii-chan's best friend could look while standing in ankle-deep water holding an axe.

After that delightful incident, the two youngest Kinamotos and their cousin decided to sneak into the aquarium after hours and attempt to seal what they now realized to be the Watery Card. In the end they had lured it into the big walk-in freezer Touya had told them about so that it would freeze and hold still long enough for Sakura to seal it with a **_"RETURN TO THE GUISE YOU WERE MEANT TO BE IN: CLOW CARD!"_** Tomoyo-chan had filmed them in matching blue jester outfits that time and Haru had once again played the bait. Not that he was complaining. Anything that lessened the danger toward his sister was fine by him.

On Saturday two weeks later, the Wood card showed up in the form a a gigantic tree growing in their basement. They had sorted that out in the end, but Kami-sama knew it had left a horrible mess for the three kids to clean up. The following week, the Jump Card had possessed the plush toys in a local shop. Haru had chased it down and managed to pin it long enough for Sakura to arrive to seal it, but it had been quite a chase.

The next week had presented a very trying ordeal for both Kinamoto twins. The Illusion Card appeared as a ghost in Penguin Park. The catch was that, to Haruki and Sakura, said ghost looked exactly like their Okaa-san. Eventually, Sakura managed to work through her hesitation (and herabsolute terrorof ghosts) enough to seal the card. The siblings managed, but the encounter truly impressed upon them that the Clow Cards were _not_ playing around and that they wouldn't hesitate to play dirty.

After that, nearly a month had passed with no new cards revealing themselves.Then their class had gone on a field trip to the local art museum, where the Silent Card had appeared in a painting. The trio had wound up having to break into the museum at night in order to seal it back in its card form. All with an annoyingly loud second grade tomboy along for the ride.

_'It's no wonder I've got a constant headache, particularly with all these weird dreams Sakura's been having,' _thought Haru as he raced along behind his sister on his skateboard. The twins were desperately trying to catch up with their brother who had,once again, left without them.

They caught up with Touya just as the older boy reached the corner where the three of them always met up with Yukito. As usual, Yukito gave them all a cordial greeting and, as usual, Sakura gazed dreamily at him the entire way to school. As he continued on to Seijyu High next door, Yukito turned and threw them both a piece of candy. Haru immediately shoved his in his pocket as he normally did, while Sakura stared at hers as if Yukito didn't give her candy every single morning. Sakura didn't come out of her dazed state until they were already in their classroom, and then only when Tomoyo-chan started a conversation with her about Yukito's eating habits, which Haru pointedly ignored. The cousin's conversation didn't last long, however, as Terada-sensei entered the room and announced that he was beginning homeroom. Everyone hurried to their get in their seats so he could take roll.

"I have a special announcement to make," Terada-sensei told them after he had determined that everyone was present. "Today, we have a new transfer student."

At this, whispers broke out across the room. Even Haru was intrigued, though he would never admit it. After all, it wasn't exactly common for students to transfer to a new school in the middle of the term.

A fact that Terada-sensei acknowledged, before he told the new kid to come into the room. A boy who wore the Tomoeda Elementary uniform walked into the room and stood before the class as Terada-sensei wrote his name on the board.

Haru immediately disliked him. He looked harmless enough, with dark brown hair and amber colored eyes, but it wasn't his looks that Haru disliked. It was the fact that, from the second he entered the room, the boy had been glaring poisonously at Sakura.

Haru tried to glared back at the boy, but he didn't even seem to notice. Sakura was very unnerved by his attention, and each twin hardly noticed when Terada-sensei introduced the boy as "Li Syaoran, who's come all the way from Hong Kong."

Haru found it impossible to continue glaring at Li after he was assigned the seat directly behind Sakura as Haru himself sat directly in front of her. He still found it hard to concentrate on his work, though. Sakura, on the other hand, found classwork impossible that morning as she could feel Li's eyes drilling holes in the back of her head the entire time.

**_

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_**

Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Eight

**-kun:** Honorific used towards males that one is familar with.

**Kawaii:** Cute(as in little kid cute, not attractive cute)

**Onii-chan:** Big Brother

**Kami-sama:** God

**-chan:** honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys

**-sensei:** honrific used to address one who teaches

_

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_

Syaoran's here! I know a lot of you have been waiting for this. And now I've given you a cliffhanger. I'm dreadfully sorry. Well, not really, if I was that sorry I wouldn't have done it.

_In any case, remember that I like reviews a lot. They make me feel appritiated and that helps me write. So the more of you who reveiw, the faster you get a chapter. How 'bout that?_

_Until next time, Ja ne!_


	9. Friend or Foe?

_Sorry for the huge wait. Life has been crazy. What with school, taking over as Anime Club President, working twenty five hours a week, and that's not even covering AP Exams or Finals. Anyway, here's your chapter._

**

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******

Chapter Nine: Friend or Foe?

When recess came around, Syaoran immediately sought out the girl in whom he had sensed so much power. Sure the boy sitting in front of her had possessed _some_ magic, but the Li Clan heir seriously doubted it was enough to allow the kid control of the objects for which he was searching. The boy was probably just a wizard; no real threat.

Syaoran managed to convince the girl, Sakura, to speak with him privately, despite the adamant protests of the boy he had noticed earlier. Apparently the two were twins, a revelation which surprised Syaoran greatly, though of course he didn't show it. The two looked nothing alike, and it was practically unheard of for one twin to be so strong in magic while the other was so weak. Syaoran put the puzzle from his mind and focused on the task at hand.

Once he had led Sakura to a secluded enough place(behind the gym), he took out his lazin board and began the chant. The girl looked at him in confusion, but did not run. Foolish. Still, it would make things a lot easier for him.

He finished the chant and a white light shot from the board straight at Sakura, forming a line of light between girl and magical device. It lingered in the air for a mere fraction of a second before Syaoran whipped the board aside, severing the connection.

"You have them," he snapped triumphantly. "Give them to me."

"W-what?" the girl asked, attempting to feign confusion.

"Don't play dumb." He honestly hadn't thought she'd have had the guts. Syaoran held out his hand. "The Clow Cards. Now."

* * *

Haruki watched from the bushes nearby, crouching next to his cousin. His teeth clenched when he heard this Li kid demand that Sakura hand over the Clow Cards. He wanted so much to charge forward and punch the sanctimonious jerk in the face, but then Sakura would be upset with him for following her. So he would simply watch. For now.

"How do you know about the cards?" Sakura demanded, trying to sound firm.

"This board was designed to find them," the boy explained impatiently. "Now hand them over!"

"I can't!" Sakura said, taking a step back. "I promised Kero-chan that I would collect all the cards."

Haru noticed that Sakura's eyes were shimmering with determination, but Li wasn't moved.

"Kero-chan?" He repeated thoughtfully. "Keroberos? The Beast of the Seal?"

"You know him?" Sakura asked, surprised. Li ignored her question.

"If Keroberos is around," he began, thinking out loud, "Why is he letting such a child hold on to the cards?"

Haru snarled angrily, but Sakura just looked away uncomfortably.

"Kero-chan... doesn't have enough power to get bigger, so...," she trailed off uncertainly.

"The symbol for Keroberos is the Sun," Li said, his voice taking on a lecturing tone, "It rules over 'Fire' and 'Earth'. Are you telling me that you don't have either of those cards?"

Once again, Sakura looked away.

"N-no," she muttered.

"How long have you been searching?"

"Since...," Sakura closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again. "April."

"You've been searching for two months, and you still haven't found them all?" he asked, his voice pointedly condescending.

Sakura staggered as if she'd been struck and Haru growled deep in his throat. If this guy didn't start minding his manners soon, he was going to be in big trouble.

"How do you know about the Clow Cards, anyway?" Sakura demanded when she'd recovered.

"None of you business!" snapped Li, finally out of patience, "I'll take it from here, so just GIVE THEM TO ME!"

He stood in front of Sakura, who had her back against the fence that seperated Tomoeda Elementary from Seiyu High.

"Hand them over!" he demanded.

"I can't!" shouted Sakura, reaching into her pocket. "I can't do that! I promised Kero-,"

"I get it," said Li nastily, "They're in that pocket."

Without warning, he slamed Sakura up against the fence and tried to take the cards by force. Immediately, Haru surged forward intending to pull the new boy off his sister.

Before he got there, however, his onii-chan jumped the fence.

"Teme!" Touya shouted, " What are you doing to my Imouto?"

"Onii-chan!" Sakura cried.

Li lept away from her and assumed a fighting stance.Oppisite him, Touya and Haru did the same. Tomoyo ran to Sakura to see if she was alright, then the two girls watched anxiously as Li and the Kinomoto brothers stared each other down.

"Be careful," Touya advised his otouto. "I've never seen that type of stance before, but if I had to guess I'd say he uses some kind of obscure Chinese martial art."

Haru nodded his acknowledgement, his eyes never leaving the brand new transfer student.

But the fight never even started because just then, Yukito showed up carrying a huge bag of buns. Stating that there were plenty for everybody, he proceeded to offer one to everyone present.

Including Li. The Chinese boy, however, simply stared at Yukito his face turning bright red. Then, he turned and ran away. As he fled, he slipped and fell in the school garden, leaving a Li-shaped impression in the mud.

"Weird," Haru remarked. Sakura nodded her head.

* * *

On the way home, Tomoyo and Sakura got into a conversation about how thier friend Rika had a crush on an older guy, or something equally inane. Haru, of course, paid them no mind.

While they were in the park freak storm broke out. However, the bizarre thing was that this storm gave off no rain, just thunder and lightening. The three children took cover underneath the giant penguin slide from where they witnessed a very strange phenomenon.

A bolt of lightening struck a nearby lampost, then jumped from that post to the next one, then the next one and so on around the entire circle of lamposts. Having done this, it proceed to chase a matinence worker who had been passing by. The worker ran away, at which point the lightening returned to the clouds which then dispersed, leaving to sun to shine brightly down upon the confused trio.

**_

* * *

_**

Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Nine

**-chan:** honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys

**Onii-chan:** Big Brother

**Teme:** Strictly means "You-," but because of the feeling behind it, it is more often translated as "Bastard"

**Imouto:** Little Sister

_

* * *

_

Okay. That's all for now. Next chapter: The Thunder Card.

_Until next time,_

_Ja ne!_


	10. The Thunder Card

_Sorry for the wait, I've still got one week of school left and A-Kon's this weekend. Hopefully updates will come in more rapid succession this summer. In any case, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter of The CardMistress' Magical Twin. It is entitled: _The Thunder Card.

* * *

**Chapter Ten: The Thunder Card**

As he often was, Kinomoto Haruki was reading a book. Not just any book, though. It was, as Haru would be quick to tell you, an _excellent _book. Haru was currently reclining on his upper bunk engrossed in an American fantasy novel; 'Over Sea, Under Stone' by Susan Cooper. He was entranced by the idea that three modern children could have such a wonderful adventure in such a dull place as England. Haru had never considered the island country all that interesting and had long believed that any excitement within its borders had long dried up; if it had ever existed in the first place.

He had just reached the part where Jane Drew was being chased through the woods when Sakura snatched the battered paperback from his hands.

"Are you even _listening, _Haru?" she demanded, peevishly.

"Of course not," her twin replied irritably as he tried to snatch his book back, "I can't read and listen at the same time."

Sakura planted her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

"Really Haru, " she began, exasperated, "You're as obsessed with Western novels as some Westerners are with Anime and Manga. Kero-chan is trying to tell us something important."

Haru arched an eyebrow suspiciously.

"What? Does he want more pudding?"

Sakura had to suppress a snort of laughter in spite of herself. Kero floated in front of Haru's face angrily.

"I was _trying _to tell you more about this Li Syaoran kid," he growled.

"That guy?" Haru shrugged and snorted dismissively, "He's a jerk, what more is there to say?"

"A lot," said Kero.

"Apparently, he's a descendant of Clow Reed," Sakura informed him. "You know, the guy who created the Clow Cards."

"I _know _who Clow Reed is, " Haru informed her caustically, as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed, "What I fail to understand is why any of this matters."

"Hoe?" Sakura said, cocking her head to one side.

"He wants the cards; we want the cards," Haru jumped down to the floor. "He's our rival, pure and simple."

"Haru-," Sakura began, but she was interrupted when the cell phone that Tomoyo-chan had given her rang.

Sakura walked over to where the device lay on her desk and picked it up.

"Moshi moshi," she answered it. Sakura listened for a moment then motioned for Haru to open the curtains that covered their window. Puzzled, Haru did so. Immediately, he saw the problem.

Though no rain fell, the sky was completely clouded over. Thunder rumbled as lightening lit up the horizon.

"We see it, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said into the reciever after a moment. "We'll meet you in Penguin Park in ten minutes."

* * *

They had arrived at the agreed upon meeting place on time and Tomoyo had outfitted them both with rubber cat suits, much to Haru's chagrin.

"This is the most ridculous outfit you have _ever_ designed," Haru told his cousin, mortified.

"Don't be so negative, Haru-chan," Tomoyo was chastising and filming him simultaneously, "You look totally Kawaii."

"Who said I want to look cute?" muttered the raven-haired ten year old rebelliously.

Just then, thunder rumbled in the heavens and lightening lept towards them.

"Show time!" shouted Kero.

"Yosh!" exclaimed Haru as he ran forward, flinging down his skateboard and jumping onto it. "Hey, Thunder Card!" he shouted, waving his arms wildly to attract its attention. "Your mother was a transistor and your father was an alkaline battery!"

* * *

_'Kinomoto Haruki_ _is completely insane,'_ Li decided as he watched his classmate from afar. Only an absolute psycho would even _think_ about taunting the Thunder Card into chasing him. Li watched for a while longer before deciding to step in. He arrived on the scene at the same time as that joke of a Cardcaptor Kinamoto did. She was asking a small plush-toy-looking thing what the Thunder Card's true form was while watching her brother cavort through the park with said card hot on his heels. She didn't even notice that he was standing right behind her.

The plush toy spoke.

"Thunder is really-,"

"You don't even know that?" Li interrupted, announcing his presence.

The girl jumped. Literally.

"Li-kun!" she cried, waving her arms around wildly.

Li ignored her and raised his sword into a casting pose.

_**"Gods of Thunder, Answer my Call!"**_ he intoned in a loud, yet solumn, voice. He brought his sword back then thrust it forward in a throwing gesture, just as Haruki led the Thunder Card's manifestation past the building on which they were standing.

A great bolt of lightening flew from Li's sword to strike the Thunder head on.

Thunder flew backwards, taking on a more definitive shape than its previous orb of lightening.

Li ran forward before Thunder could recover, standing between it and the severely winded Haruki. Much to his annoyance, Sakura followed at his heels.

As Thunder got to its feet, they could now see a four-legged beast that seemed to be made of lightening.

"It looks scary," Sakura murmured nervously.

Li ignored her.

"You catch Thunder after you change into it's true shape as a Raijuu. You don't even know _that_?" He spoke in a know-it-all tone of voice.

"I was about to explain that!" the plush toy muttered angrily.

The Raijuu stood and gave a shrieking roar before turning towards the two fourth graders. Li notice that Sakura was holding the Windy Card.

"Baka," he snapped, "You can't fight against Thunder with Windy!" Was she stupid or something?

"But...I've caught some cards by holding them down with Windy..." A hint of a uncertainty had entered her voice.

What, did she think every card was the same?

The Raijuu started towards them.

"Do you have the Shadow?" Li asked.

It was Haruki who answered.

"Hai, she does. Boy, was that one a bitch to catch, too. Chased me around the school three times before she managed to seal it."

"Haru!" Sakura admonished, though weither she was objecting to his language or his implication that she was slow, Li was unsure.

**_"Petals of Wind, Answer my Call!"_** Syaoran called. A high wind blew the Raijuu away from the pair. It landed several feet away; right in front of Haruki who was too tired to run.

"Uh-oh," the young bookworm gasped.

"Use the Shadow Card!" Shouted Li.

Sakura dug into her pocket with one hand frantically.

"I don't mean to rush you, Sakura," called Haruki as the Raijuu poised to attack, "But I'm kind in a situation here so could you HURRY UP!?"

**_"SHADOW!"_**Sakura cried, striking the appropriate card with her staff.

The cloaked figure of Shadow loomed above the Raijuu for a moment before it enveloped the beast.

Sakura ran forward and raised her staff.

**_"RETURN TO THE GUISE YOU WERE MEANT TO BE IN!"_**

She brought the staff down hard.

**_"CLOW CARD!"_**

There was a bright light and a moment later, a card labeled 'The Thunder' fluttered to the ground.

Haruki slumped to the ground in relief as Sakura bent to pick up her new card.

* * *

Haru was so relived to not be dead, that he found he didn't mind so much when Li started talking down to Sakura. It may have been the left over adrenaline talking, but the guy wasn't really all that bad. A little uptight maybe, but nobody was perfect, right?

Haru stood and slung his arm around the other boy's shoulder just as Kero-kun stopped biting his finger.

"You know Li-kun?" Haru began, "I think we're gonna be _good_ friends."

Li's eyes widened in shock at this out-of-nowhere statement.

"You're insane," the Chinese boy informed him. Shrugging off Haru's arm, he stalked off, passing Tomoyo who had come over to check that both of her cousins were alright.

Haru just threw back his head and laughed.

* * *

**_Glossary of Japanese Word and Phrases: Chapter Ten_**

**-chan:** Honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys.

**Hoe:** Sakura says this when ever she is confused, scared, etc. In other words, she says it _a lot._

**Moshi Moshi:** Polite way to answer the phone

**Kawaii:** Cute(as in little kid cute, not attractive cute)

**Yosh:** Alright!

**-kun:** Honorific used to address males one is familiar with.

**Raijuu:** "Thunder Beast"

**Baka:** Moron

**Hai:** Yes

* * *

_Hope you liked it. Let me know if you did._

_Until next time, _

_Ja ne!_


	11. Powers Unknown

_Sorry for the long wait once again. Life is even crazier out of High School. Between preparing for college and juggling two jobs, I've barely got time to sleep, much less write._

_I wrote this chapter during summer camp where one is not allowed computer, much less internet, access. So my only reference materials were a printout of the episode guide and my admittedly disfunctional memory. So if there are any mistakes, please forgive me. _

_In any case, on with the story._

**

* * *

******

Chapter Eleven: 

**Powers Unknown**

The next morning, Sakura was unusually quiet. She hardly even looked at Yukito during their joint journey to their respective schools and she spent the entire day at school staring into space. Haru, however, barely noticed, partly because he was sitting directly in front of her and thus couldn't see her, and partly because he spent the day staring into space himself. Unlike Sakura, such was Haru's normal state. Somehow the atypical ten-year-old managed to make the A B honor roll every grading period without paying the slightest bit of attention in class.

After school, Tomoyo-chan convinced Sakura to go with her and Rika-chan to check out a new knick-knack shop that had just opened up nearby. Haru, with nothing else to do and not wanting to go home alone, trailed along behind the three girls in a perpetually catatonic state. The girls each wound up selecting a broach of a different style, then they all headed over to the Kinomotos' house.

When they arrived, Haru made to head up stairs.

"Won't you join us, Haru-chan?" Tomoyo asked him, giving him what he liked to think of as her Doom Look. Luckily, growing up with the affluent girl had allowed Haru to develop a certain amount of resistance to her subconscious scare tactics.

"No thanks, Tomoyo-chan," he declined without looking at her. Then, almost as an after thought, he added, "And don't call me 'Haru-chan'."

He made to continue upstairs, but Sakura caught hold of his arm.

"Tell Kero-chan that I have people over and he can't come down," she murmured into her brother's ear.

Haru nodded once to show that he understood, then at last ascended the stairs to their shared room. Flipping his book bag onto a waiting chair, he kicked the door closed behind him with a sock-clad foot.

"Sakura says you can't go downstairs 'cause she's got company, Kero-kun," the boy called lazily to the stuffed animal-like creature that was currently engrossed in what appeared to be Mortal Kombat III.

"I know, I know," the Sun Guardian replied, not really paying attention.

Haru rolled his eyes as he climbed onto his top bunk, sprawling himself out as he opened 'Abhorsen' by Garth Nix to where he had stuck his bookmark.

* * *

Not even half a chapter later, Haru was roused from his favorite pastime by a rather disturbing crash from downstairs followed by muffled shouting.

Knowing that the girls were not the type to make a fuss without a good reason, Haru leapt from his upper bunk and ran down the stairs, Kero floating close on his heels.

They met Tomoyo in the hallway.

"What's going on?" Haru asked her urgently at the same time that Kero asked,

"Were you having pudding without me?"

"Never mind that now, Kero-chan," Tomoyo-chan told him. "Sakura-chan is in trouble. Rika-chan just attacked her, but she's not really acting like herself…"

"What are we waiting for, then?" Haru demanded, running towards the door, his cousin and the small magical being following him.

* * *

Outside, Sakura was desperately trying to dodge Rika's attacks. With each thrust of the ornate sword Rika was wielding, Sakura's reaction time became a bit slower.

As Haru ran towards the two girls, Sakura slipped and fell. Rika took advantage of this, raising her sword to strike what could easily be a fatal blow.

Before Rika could swing her blade down, however, Haru leapt forward, landing a flying kick to the back of Rika's knee, Rika staggered for a second, giving Sakura time to scramble to her feet.

"That's the Sword Card," Kero shouted, "She's being possessed by it; you need to get her to let go of the Sword."

"Leave it to me," Haru called to the plushie confidently, as Rika regained her balance.

"Don't hurt Rika-chan," Sakura called to him urgently.

"I'll try not to."

Rika faced Haru, bring her sword into the ready position.

Haru shifted into a defensive back stance.

They stood there for several seconds, then, all of a sudden, Rika let loose a flurry of attacks.

Ducking and dodging easily, Haru searched desperately for an opening.

There!

Haru lunged forward, but Rika sidestepped to avoid him.

Too late, Haru realized he'd over-balanced himself. He stumbled backwards as Rika pressed her advantage.

Seeing the deadly blade rushing towards him, Haru instinctively threw his arms up to cross in front of his face.

A shield-like field of blue energy appeared in front of him, halting the blades descent.

"Kami-sama," Haru whispered in shock.

Then his legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground in a dead faint.

* * *

**_Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Eleven_**

**-chan:** Honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys.

**-kun:** Honorific used to address males one is familiar with.

**Kami-sama: **God

_

* * *

_

Short, and a bit of a cliffie, I admit. I just really wanted to end it there, esspecially since I couldn't come up with anything afterwards that I was satisfied with.

_Please review. It helps modivate me to write more chapters._

_Until next time,_

_Ja ne!_


	12. Family Ties

_Here's the next chapter. The Glossary has been added. In fact, I've gone back and added a glossary to every chapter for those who are either new to anime or simply less cognitive of such things. I hope it helps. Esspecially since I put so much time and effort into it. It must have taken me two or three hours to get it all done, so y'all better appriciate it. Or else I'll seek Tomoyo-chan on you. Just kidding, I can't do that. She's way too scary for me to even ask her to..._

_On with the story._

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Family Ties**

As usual, Haru was awake and out of bed long before sunrise. He dressed silently, so as not to wake his sister. Once he was clad in black sweat pants and a white t-shirt, he crept out of their room and down the stairs. He found his Onii-chan waiting for him by the front door, similarly dressed. Without a word, they both donned their sneakers and exited the house, shutting the door quietly behind them.

In silence, they jogged through the streets in the pre-dawn light. After several minutes, they arrived in an area of Penguin Park that was secluded by trees. It was their favorite spot for their morning activities.

Facing each other, the two brothers bowed then each took a fighting stance. Several minutes later, the spar was over. Touya had won, not that Haru was surprised. His Onii-chan had many more years of training than he did. What did surprise Haru was what happened next.

Normally, after a spar Touya would tell Haru about whatever flaws the older boy had noticed in the younger's technique. Today, however, Touya spoke of something quite different.

"Yukito said you were unconscious when he came over yesterday afternoon," he stated gruffly.

Haru said nothing, but found he could not bring himself to look his brother in the eye.

"He also said that that Gaki was over as well," Touya continued watching the younger boy closely, "but that he left right away."

'_Gaki?' _Haru thought, ponderously. _'He must mean Li-kun.'_

"He didn't do anything, did he?"

Haru looked up at his Onii-chan in surprise.

"Of course not!" he replied indignantly. "Li-kun had nothing to do with it. It was all-," Haru stopped himself short.

"All what?" Touya asked staring at his Otouto sharply.

Haru looked away.

"Nothing. It was just an accident." Touya didn't look convinced. "Look, can we just drop it? Please."

"If that's what you want," Touya agreed gruffly. "Now about your stance-,"

Haru listened with half an ear, storing his Onii-chan's advice away for analysis at a later time. His mind was mostly occupied by guilt. He hated lying to his brother, but what else could he possibly say? How could he tell his Onii-chan that he had been about to be impaled by one of his sister's closest friends when suddenly a shield had appeared out of nowhere? He didn't want his brother, whom he idolized, to laugh and tell him that he had a wild imagination. Or worse, call him a liar.

In fact, Haru wasn't even sure he _hadn't _just imagined the shield. If Sakura had not tried to talk to him about his last night, he wouldn't have believed it had happened. But even if the shield _was_ real, there was no way it's appearance had been _his_ doing. Sure, some weird things had happened to him over the years, like that time when Touya had been teasing Sakura by holding her doll over her head and Haru had jumped really high to grab it from him. Or the time Sakura wanted cookies, but they were too high up and somehow the bag slipped off the shelf and into her arms.

Sure those events had been odd, but they were both a far cry from making a shield of energy appear out of nowhere. It just wasn't possible for Haru to do such a thing.

* * *

Haru was running. The conversation he had had with his Onii-chan earlier that morning was the furthest thing from his mind. It was Field Day at Tomoeda Elementary and he and Sakura were in the lead for the footrace. Their long, synchronized strides had easily put them far ahead of the pack and they breathed in unison as they made their final approach to the finish line.

Haru was aware that Sakura was going her top speed. He was also aware that he could go faster. The first place ribbon could easily be his and his alone.

But he didn't want that. He wanted to share this moment with his sister, his twin. Some might think he'd get tired of sharing everything with Sakura, but they couldn't possibly be more wrong. As far as Haru was concerned, if he and Sakura went everywhere together until the day that they died, it would still be far too soon. True, they were only ten years old and it was entirely possible that his feelings on the subject might someday change, but that didn't matter right now.

All that mattered was this. Running side-by-side with his sister, the movements of their arms and legs mirroring each other as they crossed the finish line as one.

Rika-chan, fully recovered from her encounter with the Sword Card, congratulated them as they both bent over and rested their hands on their knees as they caught their breath. The pair of twins was just thanking her when they heard a single set of hands clapping. Both of them turned their heads to find their admirer.

There, standing next to their brother who was hold a gigantic bento box in each hand, was Yukito-san smiling and clapping. Sakura ran over to him. Haru followed at a more sedate pace.

"You both run very fast," Yukito stated with a smile. Before Haru could even roll his eyes at such an obvious statement, Touya-nii cut in.

"It's not like they've got any other skills," he said in a bored tone of voice.

In return, both of his younger siblings stomped on one of his feet, causing him to wince in pain.

Then, Sakura finally noticed the bento boxes.

"Is that our lunch?" she asked. "It's huge!"

'_Well, DUH!'_ Haru thought dryly. _'We _are_ eating with Yukito-san, after all.'_

"Touya and I made it," Yukito informed her.

"Tou-san had a presentation to give at the university," Touya told his Otouto and Imouto. "But he said he would come here as fast as he could afterwards."

"It's work. I can't complain," replied Sakura optimistically.

Haru inclined his head in silent agreement. As a professor of archeology at the local university, their Tou-san had a very busy schedule. Between classes, digs, and presentations, Haru thought it was a miracle that their father had time to come to their school functions at all, but Fujitaka always managed it in the end.

"Tomoyo-chan said that Sonomi-oba would be late as well," the younger boy informed the group. "Some meeting or other."

Though all three Kinomoto children addressed her as such, Sonomi Daidoujii was not really their aunt, but their mother's cousin who ran a very successful toy company. As such, she was always bringing her 'niece' and 'nephews' gifts. Most often toys that had not been released yet and that she wanted their opinion on. Whenever she came over, however, it did not escape Haru's notice that the pleasantries which she exchanged with their father seemed hollow and unfelt.

Sakura, on the other hand, had never noticed any such thing. She babbled cheerfully until Tomoyo's voice came over the speaker system summoning all the cheerleaders to the front gate for the demonstration. Yukito promised to take lots of pictures and before she ran off, Haru heard Sakura whisper to Touya to be sure to take a picture of Yukito, too.

* * *

After the cheerleading demonstration, in which Sakura had performed well until the very end when she managed to smack herself on the head with her baton, there was an obstacle course race. The only real competitors who participated were Sakura and Li. For most of the race, they seemed well matched and neither appeared to be able to gain any real lead until, mere feet from the finish line, Li tripped and Sakura came out the winner.

Sakura, though, was anything but conceited. Afterward, she invited Li to have lunch with them. An offer the Chinese boy reluctantly accepted, much to Haru's surprise.

During lunch, Yukito ate about three times as much as anyone else and Li ate quickly and left with barely a word other than "Arigatou". They were just finishing up when their Tou-san arrived, out of breath from running.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, breathing hard. "I missed the cheerleading demonstration _and_ the obstacle course, didn't I?"

"It's alright, Oji-san," Tomoyo told him, "I got it all on tape." She held up her camcorder, patting it in a self-satisfied sort of way that made Haru want to scoot away from her.

"And I took lots of pictures, Kinomoto-san," Yukito added politely.

"Well that's good," Fujitaka said as he took off his shoes and settled down on the picnic blanket. "Still, I wish I could have made it…"

"What's in the cooler, Tou-san?" Haru asked his father curiously.

"Hm? Oh, this." Fujitaka placed the large container in front of him and opened the lid to reveal- "I made this pudding last night. I kept it in the University refrigerator all morning, so it should still be cold."

As they ate their delicious dessert, Haru thought that there couldn't be a family in the world that was a great as his.

* * *

_**Glossary of Japanese Words and Phrases: Chapter Twelve**_

**Onii-chan:** Big Brother

**Gaki:** Punk

**-kun:** Honorific used to address males one is familiar with.

**Otouto:** Younger Brother

**-chan:** Honorific generally used for girls or small children, can be considered demeaning when used towards boys.

**-nii:** Honorific used towards an older brother

**-san:** Honorific that is often used towards persons one does not know well or one has a moderate amount of respect for

**Tou-san:** Dad

**Imouto:** Younger Sister

**-oba:** Honorific used to one's aunt.

**Arigatou:** Thank you

**Oji-san:** Uncle

_

* * *

_

Until next time,

_Ja ne!_

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it enough to reveiw.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Family Ties


	13. Good Intentions

It wasn't to last, though. Soon, the small family group finished their quietly delicious meal and the three adult males went to dispose of their trash properly. While they were gone, Sonomi Daidoujii arrived.

"_There goes our peaceful atmosphere,' _Haru thought resignedly. From here on out, his Oba-san would exchange curt pleasantries with his Tou-san at the same time she was glaring daggers that were sharp enough to kill at him.

For reasons Haru was unsure of, his Okaa-san's cousin seemed to truly despise his Tou-san. There was no denying that Sonomi Daidoujii doted on her niece and nephews. It was their father she couldn't stand.

When Fujitaka returned, sure enough, the glaring began with a mock-pleasant, "Konnichiwa, Kinomoto-san."

"Konnichiwa, Sonomi-chan," was the cordial reply.

It only seemed to infuriate her more.

After several minutes of a conversation in which only the two Kinomoto brothers seemed aware of the one-sided enmity behind the polite words, a voice came over the speakers.

"_Those running in the Parents' Hundred Meter Dash, please report to the front gate. Repeat…"_

At this, Sonomi and Fujitaka both stood and walked towards the front of the school.

"Good luck, Tou-san!" cried Sakura enthusiastically.

Fujitaka half turned to give his daughter a small smile and a wave. Sonomi strode ahead of him as if she believed the race had already started.

Nearly as soon as the race began, flowers began to drift down through the air. They floated lazily downward at first, but soon the air was thick with petals. Bit by bit they covered the ground. Now they were ankle-deep; now knee-deep. But still Sonomi and Fujitaka ran on.

Haruki turned to his sister.

"Something's wrong, Sakura," he stated worriedly. "This isn't normal. Do you think it could be a Clow Card?"

Sakura's brow creased in consternation.

"Ano, I suppose," she replied uncertainly. Glancing around as she pulled her key from beneath her shirt.

"You're going to use your magic _here_?" asked Tomoyo in surprise.

"No one's looking," Sakura answered defensively.

"'Sides, it's not like she has much choice," Haru added in his twin's defense.

"_**KEY WHICH HIDES THE POWER OF THE DARK**_

_**SHOW YOUR TRUE FORM BEFORE ME.**_

_**UNDER OUR CONTRACT, I, SAKURA, COMMAND YOU:**_

**RELEASE!"**

After her key elongated into the sealing staff, Sakura invoked the Fly Card. The three ten year olds clambered on and were soon hovering high above the Tomoeda Elementary Athletics Field.

The trio could hardly see the ground, the floating flower petals were so thick.

"At times like this, it's best to call the experts," Tomoyo advised, pulling a cell phone out of nowhere.

"Where were you keeping that?" Haru and Sakura asked, sweat dropping in unison.

"What? I am in the deep abyss of depression." Kero answered the phone. Haru figured he'd just lost at some video game.

"Kero-chan, we're in a bind," Sakura told the overly-dramatic sun guardian.

After a few minutes of pointless blathering, Haru grabbed the phone from Sakura and yelled into it.

"Unless you hurry up, our whole school is gonna drown in flowers! And personally, I cant's think of a more pathetic way to go!"

"Haru!" cried Sakura as she grabbed the phone back.

In the end, the Flowery Card was captured after it danced with Sakura.

Haru realized that day that, while all the cards were dangerous, they weren't all malicious.


End file.
